breakaleginhalf | dataBURST: IC Inbox

[The problem with empathy bonds is that even the emotions you aren't thinking you're feeling still leak through, and Gil's ears flick automatically with that increasing onset of gentle nervousness - and correct again as Bugsy removes his hands, as Gil blinks sharply at the sudden shock of emptiness.

(He's never going to get used to that, is he - the sudden loss, almost, of emotion that threatens to overwhelm him no matter how positive or negative, that leaves him hollow and confused and shellshocked until he remembers his own are still there.)

But his shoulders untense immediately, automatically, as he turns to look over the edge of the bath at the progress so far.]

...man, that's way more than I usually get solo, nice job. You can keep it if you want, make a fucking... shag blanket or something.

[He shifts his ass slightly, to try and get more comfortable and-- ah. All of Bugsy's touching had been that kind of thrilling too, apparently, and he feels his ears turn red.]

Shit, don't tempt me. I'll work something out with it.

[ Quietly glad that Gil hadn't majorly freaked out or anything, and after he'd dusted his hands off, he ran his fingers through Gil's mane to shake any stuck hairs loose, marveling in the softness again. ]

Just a bit more to go, then we can probably see about giving it a once-over with the clippers.

[ Unaware of his companion's situation, he returned to trimming the mane, his face now close enough to Gil's neck that his breathing tickled through Gil's mane. And, to test and see if he'd notice through the fur... Bugsy brushed his mouth against Gil's neck, barely touching it. ]

[Oh that's definitely not the part Gil's freaking out about.

Bugsy's hand working through Gil's mane gets another jolt - but softer this time, maybe he is adjusting - but its his breath brushing the back of Gil's close-to-bare neck that makes the remaining fur around the affected area stand on end, and gets a slightly louder inhale from Gil.

But Gil hears Bugsy shuffling slightly to bend down for that kiss, and all he gets is a curious twitch of one ear, an attempted side glance at Bugsy in his peripherals - before he feels that soft pressure brush against his fur, and all of his mane stands on end, as a shiver runs up his spine and makes his tail twitch. No noise for this one, but a very distinct sort of tension. Waiting to see what happens next.]

[ There were a couple of reasons that Bugsy liked dating his fellow Beast or Beast-adjacent changelings. Sure, there were the jokes about picking hairs out of your mouth for weeks afterwards, but the softness of Gil's fur underneath his lips was nice, if a little ticklish.

The other, is that there were certain tells that indicated if they were into something or not. Twitches of their ears, flicks of tails, and-

All of their fur standing on end.

Like Gil's was at his kiss.

Bugsy audibly inhaled, and smoothed a little fur down with the back of his shear-holding hand. His nerves were betrayed by their empathetic bond and not his words, as he slipped the other hand to Gil's waist (softly, cautiously). ]

Howsabout we finish up here and then head back to your room?

[Gil doesn't know if the patting his neck is supposed to be soothing or not when it happens, but Bugsy might just be able to feel the goosebumps forming under the clipped fur as he does.

His side twitches sharply when the hand appears on his waist unexpectedly, brushing through the much shorter fur there - still long enough, given his size, but not much more than an inch - but it gets the ghost of a rumble in his chest as Gil exhales deeply. And after a few seconds, Gil's hand lifts, almost cautiously, and presses lightly on top of Bugsy's, tracing his thick fingers along the spaces between Bugsy's. ]

Don't try and sound all cool when you say that. [But it's a playful admonishment at best; mostly he's self-conscious about his own body betraying him like this, compounded by Bugsy's nervousness and anticipation and his own growing needs as he tilts his head back again to lean into Bugsy's touch a little more.] But... yeah. Yeah, I think I'd be down.

Oh c'mon- if you couldn't feel that I'm shitting myself right now it would've been a fucking sexy move.

[ Still, his hand atop Bugsy's was a pleasant sensation, one that stoked more than a bit of affection in him, and Bugsy pressed another kiss to Gil's neck. ]

Well, I'm gonna need my other hand if you want me to finish this up, baby.

[The second kiss doesn't net quite the same reaction. His fur stays mostly down this time, but it still gets another pleasant shiver down his spine that makes his tail twitch again as he sits up a little straighter - certainly enhanced by Bugsy's own affection, but very sincerely Gil's own feelings on the matter, and a quiet, dry swallow.]

Oh, we're doing pet names now?

[Not that he's letting go - his grip tightens, in fact, pulling Bugsy's hand off his waist and planting a soft, dry kiss on those tattooed knuckles before he releases. Shifts his shoulders a little to make his fur settle back down again as he rests his hand back on the bath.]

I'll have to think of something better than Bugaboo.

[He's allowed to sound confident he's not the one projecting emotions. It's just the angle and deep, deep red of his ears that shows off how flustered this shit's making him.]

That's not even the first time I've called you baby. I usually go for 'kitten', but I figured you weren't the type.

[ Another audible exhale when Gil kissed his knuckles, along with a flush of affection, the desire to kiss him for that. But he kept himself controlled, and finished up the last of Gil's mane with surprising efficiency. Another brief separation, to dust his hands off. ]

I might like Bugaboo anyway. 's cute.

[And another brief shock of emptiness, easier since they're both in good moods over this but jarring nonetheless, and he can't stop a rigorous full-body shake from running down his head to his tail and ends there in a sharp flick - his grip on the bathtub during makes it creak threateningly, but it stays intact this time, and as he lifts his hips to sit back on the edge properly he is very aware of how much more obviously his boxers are tenting, and he exhales deeply. Good to know that was all him, apparently.]

Yeah, 'kitten' kind of goes the wrong direction for me. Fuck, I'm not used to having pet names my way at all.

[...ah fuck he's gonna have to turn around to get the front done isn't he.]

I can finish the front from here, at least. [As far as he was aware the scars on his back all tended to be thicker and more sparse, as opposed to the tight-knit messes of keloid and hypertrophic scars that surround his throat and heart. Stuff that required finer navigation.]

'f you're sure,

[ Bugsy wiped the scissors off on his pant leg, then offered them to Gil handle-first. He surveyed the amount of hair in the bathtub, then made his way to face Gil properly, setting himself up against the far wall to stay out of his way. He offered- ]

You let me know if I step on your toes with pet names, yeah?

[ Before actually noticing why Gil's ears were so red. He grinned, wide and sharp. ]

I really got you worked up, huh?

Shut up, fucking hell.

[His ears crook back at that lecherous grin, but he's not like, actually mad. Embarrassed at being caught and on the defensive, but he's all bark.

He tilts his head back - it serves the dual purpose of not having to look Bugsy in the eye and also actually letting him start on trimming the long parts there, and with how often he's had to do this his ears barely flick at all when the cold metal accidentally brushes into some of the scars there. And having a minute to cool down as well is nice.

His style isn't necessarily methodical or neat, around his neck, unlike Bugsy with his back: there's very much an air of getting this over with as fast as possible, and so his neck is trimmed in a minute, maybe two.

And it's only when he starts on his chest that he bothers speaking with Bugsy again and his tone is dry, but warm.]

Let's see you not get a boner when someone's flirting with your neck.

I kissed your neck maybe twice, dude, 's not my fault that you think I'm hot.

[ Another sleazy grin, and Bugsy lazily scratched under his shirt, just as an excuse to tease with a glimpse of tattooed torso. The top half of 'lucky' from his 'lucky you' tat below his bellybutton was visible just above his waistband, along with a menagerie of bugs and other grotesqueries.]

It's actually kinda nice getting to take it slower this time. Less frantic and shit.

Bite me. My mane's... sensitive.

[That one comes out a bit more noticeably defensive - also partially muttered, because it's one thing to admit shit feels nice and another to admit it's inspired something of a confused sexual crisis.

Either way, his eyes follow the movement of Bugsy's hands, and his ears twitch a little as he tries not to smirk at the stupid 'lucky' tattoo. The bugs get some interest as well, of course, but at this point he's used to them. They're just a part of Bugsy's whole Bugsy-ness. The tattoo was new, and merited attention.]

...yeah, though, same. [His eyes flit down to his chest so he doesn't ~~have to look at Bugsy when he's being sappy~~ chop off a nipple or something.] Never really done much with guys the day after, or like. Tender follow-up bullshit. I like it.

Come closer and I will.

[ He flashed some of those wicked-sharp teeth in a skeevy smirk, that softened when Gil did. As much as he enjoyed being seductive and sleazy, he had to admit that, sometimes, it was an act. There wasn't room for it here when Gil was actually opening up a bit. ]

Yeah, I uh- I predate us being able to fuck legally, I get it. I'd be down to cuddle after this, too- was kinda like cuddling a giant-ass teddy bear, last time. It was nice.

[That gets a thoughtful glance up at Bugsy, as Gil's gaze flicks up and down him again.] ...right, you totally do.

[It's easy to forget Bugsy's technically in something like-- his sixties, relatively speaking. That didn't make him not fuckable, it just made it very weird if he thought too hard about it. So Gil's not gonna.

Instead he makes the next clip of his scissors rather pointed, as he cuts off a patch of mane directly over his heart.]

It's gonna be a bit less cuddly next time, with this gone. I'm pretty sure I don't actually retain water weight so it's just the fur softening all these fucking elbows.

Edited 2021-05-18 12:11 (UTC)

You have more than two?

[ Bugsy asked, purely to be a smartass. But he offered a shrug in turn- ]

'f you can put up with cuddling a stick bug, I think I can put up with feeling you up under your fluff. Might be able to give you hickies without getting fur in my mouth this time, too.

Don't be dumb, you're cosy as shit to cuddle. [He's so totally focused on making sure this fur is super even, Bugsy, he's not looking up at all. His ears aren't red yours are.] 's'nice how you don't feel like you're gonna cave in if I hug you too hard.

[Still, he's pretty much finished doing the long parts of his mane now - it's shorter on the front, anyway, only going down to the bottom of his sternum - and now he's just fussing and trimming to make it feel even so he doesn't have to look at Bugsy.]

Besides, if you actually want to see the hickeys I'd be better off putting the Mask on during sex.

[But that'd be, like. Super fucking weird.]

Oh good fuckin' grief- that'd be weird as shit. Don't actually do that, I like you as-is.

[ That totally wasn't meant to sound so sappy, but it was too late, it was already out there. Bugsy cleared his throat- now it was his turn to look up at the fluorescent lights above them. ]

You nearly good? Need any help getting the last bits?

[Too bad Bugsy's not looking, because a complicated emotion crosses Gil's face briefly, before his ears twitch forward and he smiles, just a fraction.]

Nah, I think I'm good at this point.

[Admittedly his front is still a fair bit shaggier and uneven than the neat short job Bugsy did on his back, but given how many Issues he has with blades he's always moderately proud of himself for managing.

He puts the shears in the shower's soap holder and stands up again.]

...and so is Round Two. Bugger. [He's not sure if he's disappointed or not that he's gone down again.]

[ Bugsy flicked his eyes back down to Gil's boxers and pouted, easing himself up off the wall. ]

Damn. Do you want me to...?

[ Bugsy offered, closing the distance between them by a couple of steps. ]

's cool if not, we could just skip right to cuddling.

[He hates how difficult a decision this is. But at the same time, it had barely even been yesterday when he started learning all this empathy this.

He doesn't mind Bugsy closing the gap, but he does hold a hand up to pause him briefly.]

Yeah, I think maybe just straight to the cuddles. See how we go from there. Just a sec.

[And then he lowers his hand, and starts shaking off as vigorously as he can. Full-on, Husky-just-got-blow-dried shaking that kicks a surprising amount of loose fur into the air from his torso, and also some of the clipped remains on the ground when it makes his feet shuffle. It rolls down his body again and ends in another sharp flick at the tip of his tail, and when he opens his eyes there's a sharp, hyperfocused gleam in them for a fraction of a second before he blinks and goes back to normal.]

Don't laugh-- just feels nice after.

[ No skin off Bugsy's nose- it wasn't like he wasn't going to be up for it later if Gil changed his mind. He held both hands up and backed up a step just before he shook himself out- and really, the amusement of seeing Gil shake like a dog was muted only by the fact he had hair on his nice vest, now. Well- more hair than Ms Mojo had donated anyway. He attempted to brush himself off, and asked- ]

Better?

Yeah. Thanks.

[He'll close the gap between himself and Bugsy them, and grab the lapel of his fur-covered vest to pull him down and plant a kiss on his collarbone. The pull isn't strictly necessary, given the height difference, it's more about the power play.

And Gil's ears turn red again, hot where they're very nearly brushing Bugsy's face. His voice is very quiet and sincere for a moment, with his face half hidden under Bugsy's chin.]

...seriously, though, um. Thanks.

[And then he lets go like that wasn't just. Incredibly gay.]

[ A moment of surprise, that then eased into something warm and affectionate as Bugsy kissed back, grateful beneath it all that the separation wasn't going to lead to another freak-out. And then Gil let go, and Bugsy laughed mildly, brushing his hair back, trying to calm himself down and offer Gil some of his dignity back. ]

Hey- don't mention it. You've still gotta help me do the back of my head at some point anyway. We're even.

[It's much, much easier to handle the sudden loss of emotional information when it was positive. Jarring still, but at least the loss of contentment and happiness was more familiar, easier to get used to than the sudden intensity of sadness and loathing and spiralling infecting him and being ripped away before he can even attempt to process it.

Bugsy just gets another warm smile.]

Course. Yours is gonna be way easier than all this.

[He glances back at the small mountain of hair in the bath, but to his knowledge he was the only person who used this one anyway, and only for shaving.He looks up at Bugsy and grins.] So, your nest or mine?

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